A Chance Missed

Sophia set the alarm on her phone for 7 a.m., but Ethan turned it off before she woke up.

At 9 a.m., she slowly opened her eyes, paused for a moment, and then sat up abruptly.

Ethan was gone. She glanced at the clock beside her bed—she had already missed her morning class.

Her salary would probably be docked, but that didn't matter.

After waiting so many years, she finally had a chance to meet him again. But had she blown it? Sophia hurried to the closet to get dressed. She had a natural elegance that made her stand out. Her delicate features, fair skin, and effortless style often drew comparisons to models.

Even without makeup, her beauty was striking. Her youthful eyes gave her an innocent charm, more like a teenager than someone who had been through so much.

With just a quick touch-up, she looked as radiant as a star on TV.

As she came downstairs, the housekeeper greeted her. "Would you like breakfast, Miss?" Sophia shook her head and rushed out the door.

In the garage, her gaze landed on a sleek Maserati—a gift from Ethan on her birthday last year. Though she didn't know how to drive well, Ethan had insisted she take the car, calling it the best choice for travel.

Sophia muttered encouragement to herself and the car. "Let's see what you can do."

She had planned to leave at 7 a.m., allowing plenty of time to arrive at her destination by 8 a.m. But now it was already late, and traffic was heavier than she'd expected. Her inexperience behind the wheel made the journey stressful. What should have been a 40-minute drive stretched to over 70 minutes.

By the time she arrived, it was nearly 10:30.

The place was a welfare home where she had stayed as a child. Despite the years, it hadn't changed much. The two new buildings donated by an organization stood out, but the rest remained the same.

As soon as she stepped out of the car, two staff members approached her. One of them spoke with a hint of frustration, "Sophia, you said you'd be here by 8. Why are you so late?"

She bit her lip, thinking to herself that if Ethan hadn't kept her up so late last night, she wouldn't have missed the appointment.

"Where is he? Did he leave already?" Sophia asked, scanning the area for a familiar figure.

"He came but didn't stay long. He waited about half an hour, then left without saying much."

Sophia felt a deep pang of disappointment in her chest. She had waited so long for this meeting, only to arrive too late.

The anticipation of finally seeing him, of facing all the emotions that had built up over the years, had filled her with a bittersweet excitement. But now, standing in the space where he had once been, she realized that all of her efforts had been in vain.

Ever since she had learned in high school that he was still alive, a complicated mix of emotions had consumed her. Anger, sadness, and an undeniable longing. She hated him for leaving her behind in that strange place, for choosing his plans over the people who needed him.

The pain of abandonment had never truly left her, and the more she tried to suppress it, the more it resurfaced. Yet, despite everything, she still couldn't escape the part of her that wanted to see him again.

Every year, she hoped for a chance, and now, after so much time, she had finally tracked him down. But as the minutes passed and the person she had been waiting for failed to appear, she felt as though she was grasping at something intangible. She had fought so hard to make this meeting happen, and now it seemed like it had all been for nothing.

Sophia lifted her gaze to the sky, searching for some sort of solace in the vast expanse above her. The clouds floated lazily across the blue sky, unaffected by the turmoil that churned within her. For a fleeting moment, she wished she could be like those clouds, drifting freely and without care.

She wanted to break free, to run far away like a wild horse escaping its reins, leaving behind all her worries, all the pain that had followed her for so long.

Ethan had been a part of her life for as long as she could remember. They had shared their childhoods, their laughter, and their tears. They had once been inseparable, their bond stronger than anything else in the world. As childhood sweethearts, they had dreamed of a future together, but time had pulled them in different directions.

Life, with all its complexities and misunderstandings, had created a rift between them that neither of them had been able to bridge. Some things, once tangled with lies and confusion, were simply impossible to untangle.

The years of separation, of unanswered questions and unspoken words, had left deep scars. What once felt like a connection that could never be broken now seemed fragile, like a thread that could snap at any moment.

It wasn't as though they hadn't shared happy moments. They had enjoyed many beautiful days together. But those moments, once filled with hope and warmth, now felt like a distant memory. A dream that could never be recaptured.

Sophia had long ago accepted that those days were gone, slipping away with time. Now, she no longer had the strength to chase after them, to try to revive something that no longer existed.

As she stood there, the wind gently brushing against her face, she felt an overwhelming sense of exhaustion. The years of waiting, the pain of loving someone who had never fully understood her, had taken their toll.

She was tired of the emotional rollercoaster, tired of carrying the weight of her past. She had hoped that meeting him today would bring closure, but instead, it had only left her feeling more lost than before.

Sophia turned away from the space where she had hoped to find him. It was clear now that their paths had diverged too far for anything to ever bring them back together. She had tried, and now she had to accept that some things were better left in the past.

The person she had once known no longer existed, and the version of him that she had built up in her mind was just that—a figment of her imagination, an ideal that could never be realized.

With a final glance at the empty surroundings, Sophia walked away, her heart heavy with the realization that some things, no matter how hard you try, are simply out of reach. The past was gone, and it was time for her to let go and move on.